Devil May Cry: The Animated Series
by MegaHog14
Summary: A novelization of the Devil May Cry Anime. Rating subject to change due to violence, language, and blood.
1. Mission 1: Devil May Cry

A/N: Okay, this is a novelization of the Devil May Cry Anime. It's going to be one episode, or mission, per chapter.

For those of you that haven't seen it, you should know that in the anime, Dante had a very cold personality, though he could be kind and still cracked a joke every now and then. Since his personality and attitude very much suits the atmosphere of the anime, I'm going to keep much of it here, but I'm also gonna try to mix in a bit of his care-free personality from the games, though Capcom of America already did a good enough job of making Dante more lively, compared to the Japanese dub of the show. If I do a crummy job of it, let me know. Please.

One more thing, I've noticed that there are some characters that were never named. Whenever we happen along an important character that was never given a name, I'll come up with something.

Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters are the property of Capcom. I don't own anything. But if I did, I'd find a way to bring Vergil back in the next game.

--

It was nighttime in New York City, and true to its reputation as the "city that never sleeps", there were still many people out and about, and you could hear cars most everywhere in the city.

In a more obscure area in the city, a man was walking. This man would stick out like a sore thumb in a circus, simply because of his looks. He looked to be in his late 20's, yet despite his obviously young age, his hair was a silvery white, and it somewhat draped over his eyes. Speaking of which, his eyes were quite noticeable, too. They were a piercing ice blue, but if you were to look deeply enough, you could see an underlying warmth. His choice of clothing would easily attract attention as much as his physical appearance. He had a red long-sleeve shirt, a black vest right over it, a long red coat right over _that_, and finally black gloves and boots. His name is Dante, and he is the son of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda. A devil. His mother, Eva, was human. The demonic and human genes combined to form one bad ass, really SSStylish half-devil. Well, that, or a freak. Whichever you prefer.

After a short walk, Dante reached his location. He went down a short flight of stairs, and walked through the door at the bottom. "What'll you have?" Asked the bartender. Made sense, since Dante just walked into a bar.

"One strawberry sundae." Dante replied simply, taking one of the seats right in front of the bartender.

"Er…" The bartender let out in surprise. He turned around from what he was doing to shrug at Dante, "This is a bar, mister. Heh. No place for a kid."

"Just tryin' to sweeten the air in here. The scent of blood is stronger than alcohol in this joint."

By this time, the bartender had turned back around to continue cleaning the glasses, but he froze when Dante said that. The half-devil noticed it immediately, but for the present decided to continue as though he hadn't, "Ah, never mind. 'Cause what I'm interested in is this rumor I heard. Word on the street is that there's this bar. More like a dive. A place where they'll take a person's life instead of money…pretty scary."

There was a wasp floating along the roof, by one of the lights, and Dante recognized it for what it really was the moment he noticed it. Then he turned his attention to the table behind him, where two men were playing a game of poker. One of them had just let out a grunt of annoyance. The other said, "Sorry. Forgive me, pal."

"Royal Straight Flush, huh?" Dante asked, "Laying a hand like that could kill a guy…"

"You know what?" The man asked, as he placed his hand on the table, revealing it to indeed be a Royal Flush, "I'd like to offer everyone here a drink."

He stood up, took one step toward the bar…and Dante pulled out Ivory, one of his two .45 caliber Colts, and shot the man square in the forehead. He fell back, blood pouring of the bullet wound, with a look of shock and pain on his face. The wasp flew past him as he fell, leaving a strange trail of light. Almost immediately, the man transformed into his true form. A green-skinned, red-eyed demon. The way it worked was this: these demons were very low class. As such, when in the human world, they could not just reveal their true form at will. They needed another demon, in this case, the butterfly, to give them the boost of energy needed to transform.

He lunged at Dante, but simply ended up smashing his head painfully against the bar counter as the half-devil dropped to the floor and flipped back. Ivory spinning in the air, already starting to drop back to the floor, Dante neatly landed behind his assailant. Only to be find himself surrounded as two more of the same demons appeared behind him.

Dante caught Ivory in his right hand, pulled Ebony, his other gun, out with his left, and fired at the two behind him and a fourth that appeared from nowhere in front. Seriously, where were they all hiding? The three of them dropped dead, but the one that had first attacked him lunged again, this time successfully clamping his jaws around Dante's right wrist, and keeping Ebony at bay with his hand. He eventually forced the polished black Colt from the half-devil's hand, but even as blood spurted from his wrist where the demon was biting it, Dante didn't look at all bothered. "Not bad, Mr. Royal Flush."

The red-clothed man opened his left hand, and a broad Zweihänder, a two-handed sword, crashed through a glass in the ceiling. It was named Rebellion, and it was a keepsake from Dante's father. Dante easily caught his sword by the hilt in his left hand, and he, with the blade pointed to the floor, swung it vertically through the demon, cutting him in half. The green demon let out an enormous roar of death in the second he had while the sword was cutting through his head and neck.

Leaving four dead corpses on the floor, Dante strode to the door. He stopped in front of it, noticing a shadow on the decorative glass in the window. Most everybody would think nothing of it, but being half-demon, Dante could sense the individual on the other side of the door waiting to ambush him. He grabbed Rebellion, and stabbed the sword through the door. Dante quickly felt resistance as Rebellion entered someone's stomach, and a fair amount of blood slid through the hole in the door, down the length of the sword's blade. A moment later, the glass broke and the bartender slumped through the space where it used to be. The half-devil pushed the body off his sword, stepped over it, and proceeded to walk up the steps, saying, "Next time you set up shop, don't forget to add strawberry sundaes to the menu."

At this point, the wasp from earlier flew over the barkeeps body. Dante saw it coming from a mile away; the man burst into his true form, the same green-skinned species of demon as all the corpses inside. He made one, desperate final lunge at the half-devil. It was a fatal mistake; Dante spun around, aimed his twin guns, and said "Bingo!"

He fired, the guns report echoing for miles around.

--

The next day…at the store Devil May Cry…

"_Andy's Pizzeria. May I take your order?"_

"Yeah, hey Andy. It's Dante."

"_Oh, hey. The usual, I take it?"_

"Yeah, my usual pizza. With ham and garlic potatoes."

"_Would you like our rush delivery service, for an extra five bucks?"_

"Yeah, rush it."

"_Uh-huh. Now…about your tab."_

"My tab? Ah, don't sweat the small stuff. I'll pay you everything I owe you soon enough."

"Yeah, right…"

"Oh, and, no olive, make it a large. Don't forget."

With that, the white-haired half-demon tossed his phone in the air, and it landed perfectly on the receiver. "Are you listening to me, Dante?" an older voice asked.

"Are _you_ listening to _me_?" Dante asked back, "Can't you see I'm busy? I may take the occasional odd job every now and then…but I've got no desire to baby-sit some brat."

A young girl, who had up to this point been looking around the store, stopped and bristled at Dante's choice of word, "_Brat_?" She was wearing admittedly shabby clothes, but she herself looked nice enough.

"Sorry, little lady." Dante said, walking towards the pool table, and not sounding at all apologetic, "Maybe in ten years or so when you grow up…I'll ask you out on a date."

The girl considered her choices, and then replied irritably, "Hmph! And I'll tell you 'no' in ten seconds. Me, I'm only into younger men."

"Haha." The older man, Morrison, chuckled from the fridge. He grabbed a beer, and sat down on the couch, "You know, Dante, she might be a kid…oh, sorry." He quickly added when he caught her annoyed look, "But the young woman isn't your ordinary lady."

"I know. She's much less trigger happy." Dane joked, referring to his friend, Lady.

Rolling his eyes, the older man continued, "She's Patty Lowell, the heiress to the Lowell family fortune."

"Well, her dirty outfit sure doesn't accord with wealth and dignity."

"That's because she's been living in the orphanage downtown. But the head of the Lowell family died just under a week ago, and in his will the existence of an illegitimate child was brought into light. He left his entire fortune to her."

"And our lucky winner was Patty, hmm? Kinda like Cinderella without the magic."

"If you want" Patty said suddenly, sitting at Dante's desk, "I can always hire you as my own personal servant."

"Yeah." Dante replied, with a clear sarcastic inflection.

"Basically, it's been asked that you serve as a bodyguard and escort her to the Lowell mansion by 6 p.m. tomorrow." Morrison said, "In other words, the magic is just about to begin."

"That's all I have to do?"

"Yes, that's it."

Dante waited a moment for dramatic effect, and then said, "I won't do it. I've got a pizza on the way!"

"There's no pizza on the way!" Morrison sounded annoyed now, "I stopped and talked with Andy on the way over here. I told him 'until Dante pays his tab _in full_, you're not to deliver another pizza to him."

"Tch. You bastard…what gives you right…?"

Morrison responded by flipping a coin, and Dante groaned, "Shit, not again."

"If you win…" Morrison began, "Then you don't have to do the job and I'll pay off your tab. If you lose…

"Fine. I know the drill. Heads!"

--

A few short minutes later, after a round of pouting and whining, Dante was wearing his coat and walking out the front door with Patty. The ki- er, young lady asked, "You're not a very good gambler, are you?"

"Shut up!" The half-devil replied testily.

"Hold on!" Morrison called from behind them. He held out a guitar case to Dante and asked, "Don't you have a live show to play?"

"A show…?

"Yes, a _show_."

"I don't…oh, _that_ show!" Dante exclaimed as realization suddenly dawned on him. Taking the case he said, "Yeah, thanks for reminding me!"

--

A short while later, Dante was driving his extremely dirty and beat up red car, and was on the freeway with Patty in the passenger seat.

"I could go to your show if you'd like." Patty said kindly. Dante almost smiled, until he heard what she said next, "After all, no one else will probably go."

"Well. Thanks for the special offer, but my shows are R-rated, only."

"Hm. I guess the woman in that picture is going to your show?" Patty asked.

"Picture…?" Dante asked in confusion, until he realized that she must have seen the picture of his mother, Eva, while she was sitting at his desk.

It was silent for a few seconds. Eventually, Patty decided that no real answer was forthcoming, "Well. If she is going, you should really clean up this car. I mean look at this mess! Listen, to women…"

At this point, Dante zoned out, and just focused on the road ahead of him. Patty just kept on yapping, and the half-devil was forced to think, Must. Resist. Urge. To. Kill.

This went on for a few more seconds, until a presence touched Dante's mind. He gasped in shock as a clearly demonic voice said, "Dante…this girl's life is mine!"

The presence left, and Patty said, "Hey, are you listening to me?!" Suddenly, Dante grabbed her cap and pulled it over her eyes, "Hey! What the!"

As she struggled with the cap, Dante pulled out Ivory, and pointed it down the road. A truck was coming up the road in the other lane. Dante, with his enhanced demon eyesight, could clearly see the demon hanging from the side of it, and immediately fired three echoing rounds from his gun. All three impacted the demon, and as Dante pointed Ivory to the sky in a stylish manner, the demon fell to the floor, dead.

By this time, Patty had managed to pull up her cap, and she asked, "What's going on! Ahhhhh!"

That scream was due to the fact that Dante had just swerved to avoid a collision a head-on collision with the truck, and immediately afterwards, Patty yelled, "Isn't that a bit dangerous! What are you trying to do, kill me?!"

Dante didn't bother with a reply. He just drove on, fully prepared in case another attack came.

--

In the Lowell mansion, the three younger brothers of the former family head were in the third story living room.

The eldest, Shawn, was standing by a window. He was holding a cup of tea, and he was a lawyer. The middle brother, Jacob, sat on a single seat sofa, with his right leg resting on the knee of his left. The youngest, Brawley, was sitting right next to him in another of the same type of sofa.

Brawley slammed a fist into his palm, "Can't you do something about this, bro?! You are a lawyer, aren't you?"

"There's nothing that can be done!" Shawn replied, "If the person in that letter, Patty Lowell, actually exists, then the fortune belongs to her!"

They were talking about a letter that they had just received in the mail; it was sent by a woman claiming to be Patty Lowell. She said that she had heard of her father's death, and was on her way to collect her inheritance.

"You're kidding!" Brawley exclaimed in shock.

"Relax." Jacob said reprovingly, "According the letter, Patty Lowell will be arriving by 6 p.m. tomorrow."

"That's what I'm worried about! Tomorrow, 6 o' clock! That makes exactly one week, right?"

"Heh." Jacob chuckled at his younger brother's panic, "If Patty Lowell shows up on time, then the entire fortune is hers…Incredible, isn't it? Incredible that our ever-so-serious brother had a bastard child…

Shawn wasn't worrying. He was just calmly staring out the window. Why should he worry? After all, if his plan went well, then Patty Lowell would be dead by midnight at the latest…

--

Dante and Patty were on a train, en route to a city where they would find a hotel and spend the night. By his calculations (which, admittedly, weren't the best), they would reach the mansion a few minutes ahead of schedule.

He was lying on a seat, Patty sitting next to his 'guitar' case opposite him. The half-devil took a quick glance at the young lady and saw her looking at a picture in her locket, "So…you can be charming when you want…that a picture of your boyfriend?"

"What?!" Patty spluttered, "It's my mom, you half-wit! And she's a lot prettier than your girlfriend!

Dante, sensing a story coming on, didn't respond. He wasn't disappointed. "But…I don't know anything about her. She died giving birth to me, and I've stuck in the orphanage since…"

The half-devil still didn't respond, and Patty fell silent. The quiet continued for a few moments until they went through a tunnel. A moment after the train exited, a man who appeared to be the same age as Dante and wearing a suit walked up to their seats. He saw the picture in Patty's hand and said, "Wow, that's a pretty lady! That wouldn't happen to be a picture of your mother, would it?"

Patty jumped in surprise and turned to face him. The man continued, "Hey, you're very pretty yourself! May I sit here?"

"Huh?" Dante asked, looking around the train, "There are plenty of open seats everywhere."

Patty threw the guitar case at him and said to the man, "Sure you can sit here!"

"Thanks!" The man said, sitting and taking his hat off, "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"You're not bothering me, but I can't promise you'll live long." Dante replied ominously.

"Huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Patty asked angrily. At that moment, train entered a tunnel, "I mean, honestly, why would someone be in danger of dying just because they're sitting near us?!

Then the train exited the tunnel and Patty noticed the dead man next to her. Whoops. The young, innocent girl was in such shock as the body fell to the floor that all she let out were a few strangled gasps. Dante, on the other hand, looked at the corpse with indifference and merely said, "Good grief. I warned you."

--

A few minutes later, Patty, in numb shock, was staring at the wall muttering, "Mom…mom…"

The few other passengers on the train had now crowded around them, and were staring at the body with their mouths hanging open. An old man regained his voice first, "He's dead!"

Dante had to _really _fight down a 'no shit, Sherlock.' A woman came running back with a security officer, "Over here!" She immediately hugged her boyfriend, frightened out of her wits.

"What the…" The officer started. He addressed Dante, "You. How 'bout you tell what the hell happened here."

"Ah. Well, let me run this little scenario by you…"

"Huh?"

"…In the ten or so seconds that this train took to get through the tunnel, there was me, those three guys over there, the girl, and our dead friend here. In total, that makes six. First, the old man. (Said old man looked at Dante in surprise) He didn't do it. And the couple. (They hugged each other tighter) They were too busy making out in the dark. And the girl. (Patty didn't even register that Dante had mentioned her in the slightest.) She was as she is now."

"So it was you who…"

"Not so fast! There was one more person present…if I can draw your attention to the window…"

Patty heard that! She looked up so fast it's a wonder she didn't give her neck whiplash. She saw the demon hanging outside for a split-second. Then the train entered another tunnel. In the darkness, an un-countable number of bullets were fired, though the sparks showed that they were all aimed at the roof. A moment later, the train exited, and nothing was outside. She heard one more bullet fired from a few seats behind her, and Dante walked past her. She got up to follow, looked back, and saw the possessed corpse of the man who had been so nice to her not long ago.

--

"Do you know who killed that man?" Patty asked Dante as they walked away from the station. Dante didn't answer, so Patty took a guess, "Was he killed by a demon? Well? Does that mean that demon's are hunting me? Dante? Dante! Am I going to be killed by a demon?!"

"Who knows…"

"Huh?"

"Let's go. We need to find a hotel."

Patty was very unsatisfied with his answer, but followed him anyway.

--

"Checkmate." Jacob said, having just beaten Brawley at another game of chess.

"Damn! I lost again!"

"That's because you always seem to lose your fire in the long run, which is why Jenny left you."

"No! She left me because you and Shawn…"

"No it's not." Shawn replied from his position in front of a large painting.

"Shit…"

Jacob laughed a bit, then said to Shawn, "What I want to know is why you seem to be obsessed with that painting."

"Yes." Shawn replied, "I guess it's because looking at it puts me at peace; as such, I was thinking, that when we divide the fortune, I'll take all the paintings."

"Me, I'll take cold, hard cash." Brawley said.

"Hey, hey." Jacob said reprovingly, "Don't you two get ahead of yourselves."

"I know." Shawn replied, "We have to be prepared for the worst. I'm counting on you, Sid."

That last sentence was said under his breath.

--

"Welcome to my hotel." The man with unusually buckteeth and lower class clothes said. His nametag identified him as 'Sid'.

"Give me your cheapest room." Dante said, "I don't give a damn if it gets sunlight or not. We'll be leaving in the morning anyway."

"One adult and one child." Sid said, handing the half-devil the key to the room.

"Oh, she's not a child. She's a young lady." Dante joked, pocketing the key, "Come on, Patty, let's go. Time to hit the hay. What are you looking at?"

He noticed that she was staring at a poster promoting an opera. "That's…" She started, "That's my mom."

"Huh?"

"Hey, Mister!"

"Yes?" Sid asked.

"Where can I go to see this woman?"

"Well…"

"I thought your mom died." Dante said, "Come on, let's go to sleep."

--

A few minutes later, they were in their room. Dante laid down on the couch, but it was too small for him, "Geez, tight fit." He settled for putting his feet on the radiator.

Patty sat down on the bed. She hadn't said a word since the poster moment downstairs, but suddenly said quietly, "On the train, I didn't tell you the truth. My mom didn't die, she disappeared. I heard the orphanage director talking about it once…" Dante listened with a quiet politeness, "I don't care about this fortune I'm supposed to be receiving. And none of the other kids would either, if they were in my place. I mean, yeah, I'll use the money to buy them all clothes and sweets, but that's not what we need.

"What we need is to see our mommy's and daddy's!" She started sobbing now, "Now I bet you're probably laughing, aren't you?"

Dante felt a pang of sympathy. He knew what it was like to lose a parent…or two, "Of course not…I can understand someone wanting to be with their parents…"

Patty immediately noticed the well-hidden tone of sadness in his voice, "Wait…you…"

"Get to sleep." Dante cut her off, "We've got a long day tomorrow."

"Okay." Patty hung her hat from the headrest and lied down."

--

At exactly 11 p.m., Patty's eyes snapped open.

--

A half-hour later, Dante was running down the stairs. He found Sid in the same as place as where he was before and said, "Hey, where's Patty?"

"Patty?" Sid asked.

"The girl I was with!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Dante didn't waste anymore words; he pulled out Ebony and Ivory, and shot the opera advertisement full of holes. After he was done, the poster revealed its true form. A giant demon butterfly.

After it fell to the floor, the Son of Sparda felt something press into his spine, "You bastard…who are you?"

Sid had put a revolver to Dante's back, and sneeringly replied, "I know you…"

"Oh? Then you know that you can't kill me with that gun."

"Uh…"

"Now…" Dante spun his head around to glare at Sid, his ice blue eyes cold and full of hatred, "_Where. Is. Patty!_"

Sid stared into his eyes, and knew that he was a dead demon if he didn't tell Dante what he wanted to know, "Okay…"

--

Patty walked up the steps to the theater house, and entered.

--

Sid was driving. Dante was in the passenger seat, with his eyes closed. The low-class demon had considered a surprise attack on the half-devil, but decided that he much preferred being alive, "Yeah. In Hell, there's currently a lot of competition for the spot as the ruler. It's dangerous like that for a while. Ever since you defeated and sealed Mundus away, in fact."

"Hm." Dante replied uninterestedly, "Who gave you the order?"

"Huh?"

"Who told you to go after Patty?"

"Uh…"

"It must someone from the Lowell family. Someone who would have a lot to gain if Patty failed to claim the fortune. Now who was it!"

"Urk! I'm sorry! I 'm just a grunt, I wasn't told anything, really!"

"Hm."

They continued on in silence for a few moments, then Sid turned on the radio. Something loud and obnoxious came from the speakers, and a vein popped on Dante's forehead, "Is there something you'd like to share with me about your taste in music?"

"Oh, all right, I'm turning it off…"

--

Patty followed the sound of singing, and ended up in front of a large door. She opened it, and saw the stage. And on the stage…was her mother, "Mom!"

A spotlight suddenly shone on her as she ran down the stairs, and the singing seemed to get louder the closer she got, "Mom! Mom! MOM!'

She eventually reached the stage, and jumped on. Patty ran to her mother, and hugged her, "Oh, mommy, I missed you so much!!"

"I'm sorry, Patty. I promise I'll never leave alone again."

"Oh, Mom, really?" She looked up with a wide smile, but it was wiped off her face as she realized that she was hugging a nightmare creature.

It wasn't her Mom. It was even human! It was horrible, with amber, jello-like eyes, and two tusks growing from the sides of its face, "It's time for you to DIE, sweetie!!"

One of the background props fell from the ceiling. It hit the ground, and Patty could see it was a ruined village, perhaps destroyed by an earthquake. A large number of black, shadow-like demons sprang from various places on it, and they all lunged at Patty. All of them had claws extended, and teeth bared, each wanting to be the one to devour the poor, helpless human girl. They all closed in quickly, almost able to taste the flesh and blood. The devil posing as Patty's mom lifted its arm, and swung it at Patty, intending to slice her in half, "Now, let your mommy end your life!!"

Patty screamed…then, every demon on stage was hit by a torrent of bullets and knocked away. Another background prop fell, this time painted in the likeness of a calming meadow. The young girl heard another spotlight turn on, and she quickly turned to face the audience section of the auditorium.

"Hey, there." Dante said as he walked down the stairs, "You can't possibly be interested in _this_ boring opera now can you."

"Dante!" Patty cried, seeing the caring and kind smile on the Devil Hunter's face, "I thought…my mom…I…"

"Well, looks like we'll have to wait for a touching reunion."

Patty was confused by that, until she heard the ripping sound behind her. She spun around as two demons tore through the meadow background, and she screamed again. Dante had already jumped a moment ago, and kicked the two demons in the face as he landed on-stage. He aimed Ivory upwards, and fired a single round. His aim was perfect, as the bullet hit a joint holding up another background prop, "Sorry, honey, but this show is R-rated."

The prop hit the floor right after he finished speaking. It hadn't been painted, and Patty could quite clearly see shadows of what was going on behind the white material. That was when she realized it. When she realized what Dante really was. How could she not, considering how all three of the combatants on the other side looked exactly the same. The same motions, from the jumps to the ducks…everything.

She stood in shock, watching the fight, until a hand grabbed her shoulder. She gasped as Sid started talking, "Young lady, I'm so sorry that it's time for you to die. But I was promised a great reward by my master if I managed to kill you…"

He put his head close to hers, and laughed. A low, cruel sound that was without a doubt the laugh of a demon. Then, Sid pulled his head back as a .45 caliber round flew right through the space where his head had been a moment ago. The demon looked at where the bullet had gone, then at where it had come from; the two brown-black demons were dead. Dante was pointing Ebony directly at Sid, who now seemed on the verge of panic. "Get lost." Dante said simply.

Sid could take a hint. Screaming like the coward he really was, he ran, a spotlight trailing him until he fell off the stage. None of that had registered with Patty, yet. She was too busy staring at the one remaining demon behind the prop. And she realized now what Mary had learned years ago; that were indeed good demons in this world. A large trail of blood squeezed under the background prop, and began pooling around Patty's feet…

--

The next day, at sunset.

The three brothers were in their usual places; Shawn by the window, Jacob and Brawley in chairs. Then, suddenly, the clock tolled, signaling the sixth hour of the afternoon. Shawn pulled the cigarette he was smoking out of his mouth, "Time's up."

"We did it, brothers!" Brawley yelled in triumph, "The fortune is ours! This letter was a bunch of bull…"

He was interrupted as the butler opened the door, "You have a guest."

"A guest?"

"Thank you." The woman who just entered said to the butler. She was strikingly pretty, with large blue eyes, blond hair, and a red dress.

"And who might you be?" Shawn asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm Patty Lowell."

"What!! She's just a child!!"

"No, the child is a fake. I took every situation into account. Luckily, I found a girl with the same name as myself, and made sure the media was focused on her, not me. Thanks to her, I had a very happy journey!" At this point, the woman dropped the pleasantries, "Now, let's get this over with as quick as possible."

Shawn laughed, and put out his cigarette, "I'm so very sorry, Ms. Parry Lowell, but as a lawyer, it's my duty to inform you that your claim is invalid. You do realize that you're late, don't you? Even if only by a second or two?"

"But in my father's will it said 'within one week of his death'. I'm sure my father will have been dead for one week, at 6:28!" She made a show of checking her watch, "And look! I'm on time! May I use my driver's license as proof of my identity?"

"No…it's…no longer necessary."

"What"

"Because Patty Lowell's existence…" Shawn turned around as he began to transform, "well never be confirmed."

"Brother!", Jacob yelled, shocked by what he was seeing; his brother turning into a monster.

"And neither will yours…" Shawn said, his voice now deep, and gravelly. He continued to grow exponentially, sprouting horns from his head, and claws from his finger. Finally, when his head almost hit the roof, his transformation was complete.

He was a Goatling demon.

" The fortune is all mine! And I'm not giving anything to anybody!!"

He charged at Jacob and Brawley, neither of which had time to do anything. The Goatling crushed Brawley against the ceiling, and slashed Jacob with his claws. Both brothers fell limp to the floor, and Shawn turned his attention to Patty Lowell. He rushed at her, and she screamed. Literally a second before he attacked, a single piercing sound rang out, and his charge was halted. A moment later, a stream of blood started to pour from his neck, and he fell to floor.

"So it was you…who asked me to serve as a bodyguard for Patty…" A cold voice said from the doorway.

Ms. Lowell turned to face him reluctantly, scared about what she may see. And with good reason. If looks could kill, she'd be dead 25 times over. Dante's eyes were filled with nothing but raw hatred.

"Were you planning to atone for your sins against her?", no response, "You've got a pretty face. But on the inside, you're just as horrible as that demon right there."

At this point, Dante walked so that he was standing in front of the woman, "Well, if you were a demon, I'd be able to kill you without a second though…but since I don't _have_ that option, I'll take out my frustrations on that guy behind you."

Ms. Lowell looked behind herself, and saw the Goatling beginning to stir. Dante swung his guitar case to his side, and began undoing the zipper, "Looks like this should be one hell of a party!!"

He pulled out Rebellion and swung it at the Goatling. The attack connected, and drew a large amount of blood from his torso. Dante then rapidly fired Ebony, the large rounds pounding into the demon chest. Shawn retaliated by trying to squash Dante with a fist, but unfortunately for him, the Son of Sparda saw it coming from a mile away. He jumped up, and hacked off the arm with a single, powerful stroke. Ms. Lowell screamed as she backed away in an attempt to keep the arm and the blood that was spurting from it away from her. Landing neatly on the ground, Dante fired more rounds at multiple points on the demon's body; some in the stomach, the chest, and even one in the groin for good measure. The sheer force of the bullets forced Shawn into the air. Seeing his chance, Dante held Ebony in his mouth, swung around, and impaled the Goatling on Rebellion.

The light left Shawn's eyes as he died. Dante pulled Rebellion from the corpse, which held fast to the ceiling, and he gave the Zweihänder two swings to clean the blood off of it. Jacob and Brawley, who were both injured but still very much alive, had to duck as a torrent of the blood flew right past the place where they had been standing, ruining the painting that Shawn had so very much loved when he was alive.

At this moment, anyone who had been looking at Dante would have clearly noticed the demonic joy of violence that was shining in his amber eyes…

--

Back in the hallway a few minutes later, Dante slung Rebellion over his shoulder and began the trip home. Patty caught up a moment later, "I saw it all! The rated R scene!"

"Wait!" Ms. Lowell caught up to them, "Please! Let me adopt Patty! I want to make up as much as I can for what I've done…"

--

"And you said 'no'?" Morrison asked Patty.

"That's right!"

"Hm…are you really okay with not living in the mansion?"

"Yup! And I received compensation!"

"Compensation?" Morrison repeated disbelievengly.

"Yeah. Having been exposed to the ugly adult world at my tender age, I was given a little something in return. A whole 3 truckloads!"

"Is your new clothes part of the compensation?" Indeed, Patty was wearing a dress that the richest of girls would have been envious of.

"That's right! As well as all the clothes and sweets for my friends at the orphange."

"That's great." Morrison said, patting the head of the topmost stuffed animal in the pile he was sitting on.

Dante came out from the back room, wearing just his pants and drying his hair, "Oh. Morrison, you're here."

"Yep."

"Hm?" Dante let out a questioning noise as he looked at his desk, "That's weird…I thought my strawberry sundae would've been deliverd by the time I got out of the shower…"

"You mean that strawberry sundae?" Morrison questioned, pointing behind himself and up the stairs.

Dante looked up just in time to see Patty put down an empty sundae glass, "What! My sundae!!"

Patty stood and grinned at him. Dante could only stutter, "Patty?! What the hell are you doing?!…huh? What's going on with my house?!"

The half-devil had just noticed the new décor. In the short time that he had been in the shower, Patty had redecorated; there were stuffed animals all over, as well as pink curtains over the windows.

"Well, you're house was so drab, I decided to clean up a bit!" Patty answered.

"Clea…this is my place! Let's get something straight; _This. Is. My. PLACE! MINE!_"

"Aww…come on! Don't you think it's cute?"

"Erk…Cute's a relative term. I'm more concerned about my Goddamned desert!"

"Oh, that was my payment for fixing up the place! It was best sundae, ever!!" And with that, Patty smiled.


	2. Mission 2: Highway Star

A/N: Well, here's the next mission. Sorry I'm late; by all rights, I could've had this up by Friday, but I guess I got lazy. Plus, I had an orchestra concert, but I still should have had this up by last night the latest.

This one happens to be a personal favorite of mine, since the bridge chase at the end is just plain freaking' awesome. Hope you enjoy!

Just one thing about said bridge chase: the acceleration is on the right, correct? Then how exactly is Dante using Ivory instead of Ebony?

Oh, and I think I kind of overdid it by adding an extra scene to the part where Dante and Patty their appearance. It was just a spur of the moment thing that popped into my head. Let me know what you think; if most of you don't like it, then I'll refrain from coming up with new scenes in the future.

--

Three men driving motorcycles at very unsafe speeds tore out of the tunnel, the one yelling out a whoop to the sky as he did so. They kept going, completely oblivious to the two men wearing suits on the freeway watching them. None of the three motorcyclists showed any signs of slowing down.

That is, until the one in the rear lost control of his ride, screamed, and crashed. The one in the middle looked back when he heard the scream of terror, and noticing that his friend was down, turned to face the man in the lead, "Hey, Michel!!"

"What?" Michel called back. He was wearing black leather with a matching helmet.

"You're riding way too fast tonight! Slow down!"

Michel looked back, "Well, if you're so scared, you can always slow down!"

He sped up, and his friend yelled, "Michel!!!!"

The leather-clad motorcyclist didn't look back. Rather, as he began crossing the bridge, he sped up even more, "I won't stop no matter what…there's _nothing_ better than this wind!"

Just then, he heard another motorcycle approaching from behind on his right. At first, he though his friend had decided to catch up anyway, but then he noticed that the motor sounded different than the one his friend used. He stole a quick glance back, just as the new arrival was passing him. Michel noticed the ominous red headlights, but they didn't really register. When the man passed him and pulled ahead, Michel felt insulted, "Are you…challenging me?! You bastard!!"

Michel twisted the accelerator as far as it would go, and sped up. But before he could even get the motorcyclist with the red headlights back even into his field of view, he lost control. One terrible scream and crash later, and Michel was lying dead, his helmet facing the burning wreckage of what was once a beautiful motorcycle…

--

It was pouring, and a man ran up the street. He had blond, spiky hair, and was wearing a purple shirt that was tucked into some white pants. He was also wearing large orange glasses. He noticed the woman wearing the black rain slick standing in front of a store, and ran up net to her, "Geez, I give up! What's up with this rain?

"Are you waiting for someone? Your boyfriend, maybe?" He noticed that her legs were exposed, and said, "You're going to catch a cold if you stay like that. How 'bout you forget about your boyfriend and come with me?" He gave her a thumbs-up "I'll treat you with a meal!"

The woman seemed to hesitate for a second, and then nodded. The man smiled and said, "Great! By the way, my name's Chad. What's yours?"

The woman didn't respond, instead opting to just start walking down the street. "Hey!" Chad called, pulling out an umbrella, "Wait up!"

--

"Haha!" Chad laughed after taking a single look around the warehouse, "What kind of place is this? There's nothing here!"

"Oh? Is that what you think?" The woman asked, speaking for the first time.

Lady, for indeed, that was her name, moved towards a door near the back. She opened said door, revealing a treasure horde of skulls; one of them fell to the floor as she did. Chad gasped, "Wh…what's this?"

"You're playing the innocent? How rude, considering that they're here because of you."

"Huh?!"

"Recently, a large number of women have gone missing from this city…it was reported that they all met a man. And after spending one night with this man in a hotel, they all ended up here."

"And you think it was me?" Chad adjusted his glasses, "That's a bit rude…do I honestly look like the type of man who would…"

"Did you say 'man'?" Lady interrupted him, and Chad seemed to be on the verge of panic, "I don't really think so…"

Chad immediately showed his true form; he morphed into a huge white demon with horns, three fingers on each hand with talons, and white markings on his body. He swiped at Lady, and succeeded in tearing apart her rain slick, but nothing else. The female devil hunter leaped into the air, pulling out one of her .35 caliber pistols and opening fire on Chad with three rounds. All of them impacted the demon, and he began bleeding from his torso. Lady watched the blood drip to the floor with a sadistic smile and pleasure born of a dark childhood, and said, "I like you more like this."

Chad roared and swiped twice more at Lady, who nimbly hopped back to avoid both attacks. She jumped over a third swipe, and again pulled out her gun, but this time, Chad knocked it out of her hands. When the female devil hunter landed, Chad, with another roar, launched into another charge. Lady didn't flinch, but instead pulled out two more guns: another .35 cal pistol, and an Uzi with a small bayonet attachment. The devil never stood a chance.

--

The two agents approached the warehouse, clearly hearing the single shots from a pistol, and small bursts of rapid-fire from an Uzi. They reached the entrance, and saw Lady standing over the dead corpse of the demon.

"Amazing skills." Complimented the taller of the two.

"Who are you?" Lady asked, turning around to face them, "And why are you dressed like the Blues Brothers?"

"We're from the Highway Administration Office. We've been looking for you for quite a while, now."

"Oh, really?"

The shorter one stepped beside his partner, "Yes. We've heard of you…the female devil hunter, known as Lady. But your real name is…"

"What do you want?" Lady cut him off, refusing to let him go any further with that sentence.

The only indication that the man was annoyed by her interruption was that he allowed his partner to answer, "We have a job a for you…"

If they were expecting a reply, they were disappointed. Lady stayed silent, waiting for either of them to continue.

--

The next day…at Devil May Cry…

"Really now." Patty admonished, still in the midst of redecorating, "How come your house is so dirty?"

Dante, sitting behind his desk and reading a magazine with his feet up on the table, didn't answer. Patty decided to drop the conversation, and starting singing a song to go along with her cleaning. Which caused the half-devil to grind his teeth together and think, Must. _Really!_ Resist. Urge. To. Kill.

The most 'interesting' part of the makeover was when Patty worked on a certain back room. Dante shivered at the memory…

--

_Flashback_

_The half-devil was sleeping on the couch. He had tried to talk Patty out of the redecorating, but she had turned a deaf-ear to everything he said. So he let her be. Well, at least until she screamed. Dante fell out of his chair, and stood up, looking for the young lady. Then he saw the door to the Devil Arm room open, and froze in near panic._

_He rushed in, took in the three-pronged nun-chucks, the two swords with faces (which had their mouths taped shut), the purple guitar, two pairs of gauntlets and grieves, and Alastor all hanging on the wall. Finally, he saw Patty standing in front of…Patty. Then Dante noticed that the second Patty was completely black, clothes and everything, with an equally black aura, "Doppelganger! Heel!"_

_The shadow-Patty zoomed towards Dante, and kneeled before him. Patty stared at him, shaken, "Wh…what is that thing?"_

"_Patty, meet Doppelganger. Doppelganger, Patty."_

_The shadow devil gave the girl who's form he was currently taking a nod, then disappeared. Dante then turned his attention to the room at large, "Everyone! This girl here is Patty. She's a friend. Nobody hurts her, got it?"_

"_Um, who are you talking to?" Patty asked nervously. Then she felt the slender finger tap her shoulder, and she jumped into Dante's arms, in the style of a certain popular Great Dane._

"_My! Who's this little cutie, Dante?" Nevan asked. She was dressed in her usual fashion. Which was to say, hardly dressed at all. In fact, she was only decent because her long hair fell over and covered her rather ample bosom. _

_Dante put Patty down, but still kept a hand on her since she looked rather shocked at the sight of the succubus. The half-devil cleared his throat, "Patty, this is…" he didn't get the chance to finish the sentence._

"_I can't believe you!" Patty yelled, "I thought you were one of the few good people in the world, and here I find that you hang out with…with some kind of whore!"_

"_Excuse me?!" Nevan yelled indignantly, "Listen, little girl, I'm a devil. And I'll have you know…"_

--

Dante stopped thinking about it. Everything just kind of escalated out of control from there, and it was bad enough that it happened once. He'd rather not relive it. Although, he had to admit, he did owe Patty congratulations for winning the argument, as well as the following slap-fight.

"Hey! Dante!" A man's voice called from outside.

Patty gasped, "A customer!" she exclaimed, climbing down the ladder.

The man opened the door and poked his head inside, smiling, "I've got your pizza!"

Dante rushed to the door, hoping to keep the delivery guy from seeing too much. He was too late. The half-devil took the pizza box from a different person than the one who originally brought it. In other words, the man was scarred for life.

He left, and Dante walked back to his desk. Unfortunately, Patty wouldn't leave it at that, "Pizza _again? _When're you going to get an actual job? Hmm…maybe I should redecorate the outside, as well."

Dante's eye twitched; enough was enough! "Didn't you see the delivery guy's reaction?! No one's ever gonna come in with the place looking like this! Fix everything.

Patty was about to give a scathing reply, but just then the door opened. She spun around, saying, "Welcome to Devil May Cry!"

"Hmm…" Lady began, looking the store over, "Well, it looks like your taste has changed quite a bit in the time since we last met, hasn't it, Dante? Or were you hiding this from me the entire time we've known each other?"

Dante's eye twitched again, but he refused to take the bait. It would lead to a total argument, and the _only_ one of those that he's ever won against her was the one they had in the library of the Temen-Ni-Gru. Lady took advantage of his silence to look around. She walked to the windows, and pushed the new curtains aside so she could see outside.

"I get it, now." She said, looking at Patty, "So you must be this 'Patty Lowell' I've heard so much about."

Patty gasped, pleasantly surprised, "How'd you know? Am I famous?"

"Well, there've been rumors of a girl hanging around the Devil May Cry recently."

"But…" Dante interjected, "You obviously didn't come all this way just to see some brat. (Patty pouted when he said that) What do you want? If it's one of those jobs, the answer is 'no'."

"Wow, aren't you cold."

"Only because the jobs you bring me are pretty shitty, and they don't pay good in the least."

"Fine, then. Have it your way. But first…do you realize how much money you owe me? Do you get it now? I'm here to _collect_."

"And you should know…" Dante started, "That I don't enough money to pay such a large debt. I couldn't pay you if I wanted to. And just so you know, I don't want to."

Lady walked over to the pool table, "Then how 'bout a bet? If I pot ball number 8, then you'll do the job unconditionally."

Dante sighed as he watched her chalk the tip of the cue, "You can never do things the simple way, huh? Alright, fine. But if you miss, you give me complete amnesty for my debt…"

"I'm surprised you know the word 'amnesty' and how to use it properly in a sentence."

"…and you give me twenty thousand _in cash._

"Deal."

As Dante looked away, apparently believing that she stood no chance, Lady aimed, and hit the cue ball. Dante took a bite of his pizza as he listened to the balls clacking together behind him, but was forced to look as he heard what must have been six balls crashing together. He turned just in time to see the 8 ball roll into the corner pocket.

"Wow!" Patty exclaimed, having moved in close to watch the spectacle, "That was amazing!"

"Shit…" Dante muttered, grabbing his coat, "You know, you could make a hell of a lot more money being a hustler."

"Sorry, that doesn't cut it for me. I have a need to annihilate and destroy."

"Okay, who's the poor sunovabitch you're sending me after, this time?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lady asked, narrowing her eyes sadistically, "Demons, of course."

--

The pair approached the gasoline shop, where a large group of motorcyclists seemed to be having some gathering; some of them were riding their bikes around, while others were setting off fireworks. There was even a stereo. "What the hell is this?!" Dante asked Lady incredulously, "There is no possible way in hell that these idiots are demons."

Lady pointed at the leather jacked one of the was wearing, which read 'Devils Nest', "Well, according to the Highway Administration Office, these guys _are_ demons. Scared?"

"Don't toy with me. Why would a demon hunter waste time taking care of these morons?"

"_Which_ is exactly why I'm passing the job on to a Jack-of-all-Trades like you. I don't know what the hell the HAO was thinking, if they were thinking at all, giving me this job. So I figured…"

"Enough!" Dante growled in annoyance, and starting to walk away, "You're on your own."

"Why?"

Dante stopped, and the light reflected off of Rebellion's hilt into Lady's blue and red eyes, "I can't use swords or guns on humans. In a way, they're more of a pain in the ass than demons. And to make matters worse, they won't listen to a goddamn word I say. Bye?"

"Please. Who needs words or guns when dealing with these idiots? Follow my lead." And with that, she walked towards the group.

Sighing, Dante stuck around to see what happened. He watched Lady almost immediately get into an argument with one of them. He couldn't make out the first few words, but as their voices grew louder, he heard "Just what do you want?"

"I don't want anything from you." Lady replied, " I want to see your boss."

"What's your problem, bitch?" Another guy joined the argument.

Then the music stopped, and a man came over. He had blonde hair, and was wearing a green shirt, a black leather jacket, and pants a little lighter in color than his jacket, "I'm the leader, Vincent. What do you want?"

Lady pushed one of the men she was talking out of her way and approached Vincent, "Sorry, but you guys are gonna have to hit the road."

"What do you mean?"

Another man wearing a bandana went up to Lady, "We do what we want, when we want!"

"See?" Dante asked, attracting everyone's attention, "Told you talking to them would do no good. Trying to reason with a bunch of losers who don't even realize what a pain in the ass they are is just a waste of time. Bye?" He tried again.

"What did you say?!" Bandana man asked heatedly, starting towards Dante.

Vincent stopped him, addressing the two devil hunters, "I'm sorry about the inconvenience to you guys, but could you leave? We're planning a race. My older brother Michel raced against someone three weeks ago, and was killed." Vincent clenched his fists, "That bastard's a legend on the highway. Everyone who races against him dies. I have to avenge my brother!"

"Pathetic…" Dante snorted, "Your brother was an idiot to get himself killed in a race of all things, and you're even stupider to try to avenge him by racing against a guy _who kills all competitors!_"

"Oh, you little!"

"Wait." Lady stopped him from attacking Dante, "How about a race?"

"Huh?"

"If you lose, then you and your crew clear out, immediately."

"Hey, Lady!" Dante called, "Don't go making decisions for me!"

"What's wrong? If you win, you'll be able to pay your debt, with interest."

"Shit…"

"Now wait one minute!" Vincent yelled, "I never agreed to…"

Lady put a finger to his lips, "The guys you're trying to race. It's Red-Eye, isn't it?"

"How did you…?"

"Who know? Maybe if you race…he'll show up?"

"You…" Vincent gasped, as Lady winked with her red eye.

--

Not half-an-hour later, Dante and Vincent were ready to race. Lady came up to friend with a helmet, "Here."

"I don't need it." The half-devil claimed dismissively, jumping onto the motorcycle.

"I didn't think you would."

Vincent growled, throwing off his helmet, "I don't need it, either!"

"What!" One of his friends exclaimed, "That's crazy!"

Dante ignored them, deciding to question his friend, "You…what are you up to?"

"Why do you say it like that? I'm just trying to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"I'm not talking about the helmet…but fine, I'll play your game for a little longer." He grabbed Rebellion from his back, and held it out to Lady, "Here. I won't need it."

"I guess you're right." Lady took the sword, smiling, "At least for right now."

A minute later, the female devil hunter held her hand up, signaling Dante and Vincent to get ready. They both revved their engines, and when Lady suddenly dropped her hand, the racers took off.

Vincent took an early lead, but the moment he looked back to see how far behind Dante was, the red-clad hunter was already pulling up beside him. Growling, Vincent pulled ahead, but the next time he looked back, Dante was actually _ahead_ of him. "You'll never avenge your brother at that slow speed!" Dante called mockingly.

"SHIT!!" Vincent roared. Then he pressed a button right under the handle bar, labeled 'nitro'. Predictably, he took off at an amazing speed, tearing right past Dante.

--

The entire time, a man in black leather, sitting on a motorcycle with red headlights, watched.

--

"Nitro?!" Dante muttered in exasperation, speeding up, "That idiot!"

Vincent neared the bridge. The speed he was going at almost forced his eyes into his head. He was seconds away from the bridge. He grunted with exertion from trying to keep the motorcycle from swerving out of control. Then he reached the bridge…and he saw his brother.

Dante had reached the bridged a good five seconds later, and he heard the clearly demonic laugh. If anyone had seen him, they would have seen an expression of shock on his face. Apart from the laugh, he also sensed some type of aura around the bridge. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place what it was.

He whipped out Ebony, and fired two rounds at Vincent's tires. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but whatever it was, it was time for Vincent to get out of the way. Both bullets flew straight at the back tire, but they suddenly veered off course and collided into the metal of the motorcycle instead, where they could do no real damage.

"Shit." Dante growled, returning Ebony back to its holster and knowing that something was keeping him from stopping Vincent. As such, logic would show, the motorcyclist must be the target of the demon doing this.

"Brother!" Vincent yelled, his thumb reaching for the nitro button.

"No! Don't do it!" Dante roared.

Vincent took no notice of him as he pressed the button three times, "Brother! Brother, brother, brother!!"

"Stop!!!"

With an insane cackle, the motorcyclist said, "I won't stop no matter what…there's _nothing_ better than this wind!"

That's when Dante remembered, "This is…demonic possession!!"

The possessive power was laced around the bridged, so Dante used the only method available to him; he destroyed it. Again pulling out Ebony, he opened fire on the bridge's supports. Round after round tore into the metal, effectively weakening them enough so that they would crumble. Eventually, Dante stopped firing and focused on his steering. A good thing, too, since he ended up needing both his hands to avoid the metal supports raining down on him!

He clamped his jaws around Ebony, leaving both hands free to steer. He evaded all the falling supports and cleared the bridge just a few seconds after Vincent. As Dante pulled along side the motorcyclist, he confirmed that the demons possession had worn off with the destruction of the bridge; Vincent no longer looked crazed, but dazed. "So tell me: Why are you following the shadow of your dead brother?" Dante asked.

He shot Vincent's back tire out, and the motorcyclist swerved out of control, but landed safely in the grass next to the street. Then Dante sensed someone's presence, and looked to his left; there, riding on another bridge, was a motorcyclist wearing mostly red leather, with a matching helmet…and she was carrying Kalina Ann and Rebellion.

Lady grabbed Rebellion from her back and, with strength that really shouldn't have been available to a human, used a single arm to throw the sword to Dante. The half-devil watched it spin in the air towards him, and caught it deftly by the hilt with his left hand.

Lady gave him a thumbs-up, then proceeded to speed toward the edge of the bridge she was on. She launched into the air, and landed perfectly on the street Dante and Red-Eye were on. "That bitch. This was the plan all along." Dante sighed irritably, then grinned, "All right, let's go there!"

Lady grabbed her two .35 cal's and opened fire on Red-Eye. All the rounds hit their target, but to no effect. "Shit." Lady muttered.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Dante yelled, pulling along beside her, "You called me here 'cause you knew this was gonna happen, didn't you?"

"Well, if you knew that already, why don't hurry up and get him?!"

"Easy to say."

"What's wrong? Is it too difficult for you?"

"Nope! Easy as can be!" Dante sped past Lady and after Red-Eye.

This close, Dante could see the aura Red-Eye was giving off. The demon laughed, which only served to irritate Dante and make him speed up.

The wind seemed to part as the half-devil sped up. He came up right next to Red-Eye, and with a roar, pushed the accelerator past what was supposed to be its limit. As a result, the speedometer broke with an electrical discharge, and the exhaust began spitting flames. Dante sped past his opponent. He had won. Okay, well, not yet. The half-devil heard the noise as Red-Eye revealed his true form and leapt into the air. Dante spun around in his seat, swinging Rebellion at the same time. His aim was perfect, as the blade stabbed Red-Eye just next to the tire.

Red-Eye was totally grotesque, with the red eye he was named after being just that; a glowing red eye.

"Hey, buddy!" Dante said, "You're going over the speed limit! What are you tryin' to do, cause an accident?"

The red-eyed demon didn't take kindly to the joke, however lame it was. He roared, and grew four arms, which he used to move around. Also, the front tire transformed into a saw wheel, which started turning in an attempt to chop Dante into confetti. The Son of Sparda pushed with Rebellion to keep the saw at bay, then he saw Lady approaching from behind Red-Eye. With a burst of strength, he cut through the wheel with Rebellion, leaving the motorcycle demon bleeding profusely from a sizable wound.

Lady leaped from her motorcycle and aimed her descent towards Red-Eye. Unfortunately, the demon saw her coming, and punched her with one of his four arms, sending her helmet flying. Dante was about to step in to help, but when he saw Lady recover quickly and grab Kalina Ann, he decided that it would probably be safer to step _back_, instead.

The female devil hunter flew over Red-Eye, and launched a missile into his namesake. She landed neatly on her motorcycle, which had still been going since she jumped off, and braked into a complete stop. She brushed a stand of hair from in front of her eyes, and a moment later, the motorcycle demon exploded into brilliant flames.

Dante watched him burn for a moment, then turned on Lady angrily, "You were planning on using me from the beginning!"

"I'm sorry." Lady apologized sincerely, "But that was the real request from the Highway Admin Office."

"Brother!"

Dante and Lady turned to see who had shouted, and saw Vincent running to the remains of Red-Eye. Vincent kneeled next to the corpse, which was for whatever reason in the form of Michel, and when the body melted into nothing, he screamed, "_BROTHER!!!!!"_

Neither of the devil hunters said anything, realizing that this was something Vincent would have to come to terms with himself…

--

The next day…at Devil May Cry…

Patty was tapping the drum set, playing the same note over and over again, "Not one customer has come in since I removed all the decorations…"

"My idea of life is resting six days a week." Dante joked. Well, Patty _hoped_ he was joking. Dante continued, "Besides, the payment from the last job should be coming in any minute now."

"Hmm? You mean the motorcycle devil, right?"

"Yep. Lady should be at the HAO right now, discussing my payment." Then the phone rang, "Ah, here it is now!"

He banged his foot onto the desk, and the phone went flying into his outstretched hand, "Lady! I was waiting for your call! Now about my…"

--

"The debt's increased." Lady cut him off from inside the phone booth just outside Devil May Cry.

"Huh? It's _increased_?"

"I got the money for taking out Red-Eye, but don't you remember that bridge you destroyed? I had to cover the cost."

"So?"

"_So_, the cost took up all of your cut, as well a bit of my own. I'm adding it to your debt." Lady went to hang up phone.

--

"Wait, Lady!" Dante yelled. He was too late.

He threw the phone back onto the receiver, "Shit! That bitch!"

Patty found herself pitying him, "You're not very lucky, are you?"

"Shut up!" Dante pouted, his face covered by a magazine.

Then the door opened, and Vincent walked in. A few minutes later, Patty served him tea, "Here you go."

Vincent nodded his thanks, but directed his words to Dante, "That woman told me your office was here, so I came to thank you…so thank you. It was almost like…like I somehow heard my brother's voice. I chased after it, but if you hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't have found my brother. Rather, I would have found my death.

"And so, I've made my decision. I will no longer do things for Michel. From now on, I race for myself! And then…" Patty looked back, interested. Vincent finished, "Please, race me again!"

Dante, who hadn't said a word since the motorcyclist came in, looked up at him from under the magazine. He saw the new clarity in Vincent's eyes. The half-devil stood up, and made his way to the pool table, "How 'bout a bet?"

"A bet?"

Patty looked like she wanted to smack herself as Dante continued, "If you win, I'll race you again. But if I manage to pot ball number 8…"

"Pot ball 8?"

"…you'll treat me with a meal."

Dante took the shot. Predictably, he lost. Then he was subsequently arrested for speeding that night during the race. The Son of Sparda had to borrow money from Lady to pay the fine. Just another two grand that was added to his debt.

On the bright side, though, Vincent got away!


	3. Mission 3: Not Love

A/N Well, I got a message from the laptop repair people that included so many complicated words that I was forced to look them up. To spare you guys the trouble; I'll give you the short version: R.I.P. Laptop 2005-2008(Wow, talk about a short lifespan…)

Obviously, I needed to get a new computer. And I did! Truth be told, I've had this comp for the past two weeks. Unfortunately, in said past two weeks, school became a living hell, so I had to shelve writing fan fics until things calmed down. Now, it's pretty much vacation time, so I'm back! Yeah!

Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with any extra scenes for this mission, aside from describing two murder reports that the Mayor hands Dante. And thinking ahead, I don't think I'll be able to come with any for 'Rolling Thunder' either. Sorry.

I assure you, however, that I'll have a couple for 'In Private.' But, of course, that'll have to wait until we get there.

………Oh wait!! One just popped into my head for this chapter right now! Alright! Talk about timing. Hmm…it'll require another disclaimer. It might give the whole thing away, though. Ah well, I'd rather spoil it, than get the story taken off of fan-fiction for not putting it up

Disclaimer: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and all related characters that make a one-time appearance in this chapter are the sole property of Capcom.

That's enough rambling, on with episode 3!

--

Angelina was running along the walkway. She was very pretty, with a gentle, attractive face, and large, pretty eyes, "I'm late! If I miss my curfew, father'll be so angry with me!"

In her haste, she tripped over her own feet while running down some stairs. No surprise, since running in high heels wasn't all that recommended. She hurt her ankle when she fell, and clutched it, "Ow…"

Just then, a young man came up to the landing she was on from the other direction, "Are you okay?"

"Ah…" Angelina looked up, mildly surprised by this man's sudden appearance, "I think I sprained my ankle…"

"Here, let me see it." The man said. Angelina took the opportunity to look him over. He was rather handsome. He put his hand to her ankle, and strange green light seemed to glow between his palm and her ankle.

When the light died down, the pain was gone. "There. Can you stand?" The man asked.

"Um…I think so."

She tested her leg; it felt good as new. "What was that?" She asked, "A slight of hand? Or could it have been actual magic?"

The man chuckled, walking past her, "Have a nice evening."

As he started climbing the steps, Angelina called to him, "Wait! What's your name?"

He stopped, and turned back to face her. Overcoming what seemed to be a bit of hesitation, he answered, "Brad."

"Brad…" Angelina repeated, almost in awe. Just then, the sun set completely, and the light by the walkway bathed them in what was almost a romantic light, "Will I ever see you again…?"

They did. The next day, the two new friends met in the same place, obviously intending to spend some time together. Brad stuck a rose in Angelina's hat, and the young woman gave him a smile that could have warmed the most hardened of hearts. In fact, even the meanest of people would have smiled if they had seen the two running together through the park just a short while later.

--

A few evening later…at the Mayor's house…

"Do you understand me, Angelina?! You are NOT to see that man anymore!" The Mayor yelled at his daughter.

"But why?!" Angelina asked, in grief, "Brad is such a nice person!"

"I don't care! You will not see him anymore! You cannot leave this room until you promise me so!"

The Mayor walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He put a giant padlock on the door and locked it, "This is for your own good!" He called from the hallway.

In a quieter voice, he handed the key to Alfred, the butler, and said, "Here."

"Of course, sir." Alfred replied.

Back in the room, Angelina fell to floor, and sobbed herself to sleep.

--

The next morning…at Devil May Cry…

Sounds of a struggle could be heard coming from inside. It sounded like an all out brawl, in fact. A couple who happened to be passing by quickly ran on when they started hearing the sounds. They notified the police of possible domestic violence, only to be informed that for that particular building, it was an unusually quiet day.

In fact, what really was happening, was nothing more than one Patty fighting with one television. The noise woke Dante from his nap, and he said, "Hey, keep it down. You can mess around with a broken T.V. all day, but it won't just magically fix itself."

"Grrr…and today's episode of 'Spring's Bolero" was supposed to be the series finale!" Patty replied testily.

"Well that's too bad. I'm pretty sad, too. Would you like to know why? Because a certain girl named Patty, not naming any names, just interrupted my afternoon nap."

Patty set the small T.V. down and demanded, "Go and buy a new one!"

"With what money?"

"Ugh…how the heck did you blow through that much money so fast?"

"Because of a certain female devil debt collector, plus I have a tight-fisted bastard for an agent."

"Just who are you calling tight-fisted?" Morrison asked, opening the door and leaning against it.

"Well. What do you know? Here to bring me more work that doesn't pay?"

"You know me. I only bring you jobs that pay the big bucks. But that's assuming you actually do the job properly, and you've messed up all the recent ones some way or another."

The magazine fell off his face, and Dante threw Morrison an annoyed look. Patty was happier to see him, "Morrison, can you fix the T.V.?"

"The T.V.?"

"It's broken! And today's the last episode of 'Spring's Bolero!'"

"You got the car, Morrison?" The half-devil interrupted.

"Yep." The older man replied.

"Then I'll take the job…as long as you let me get some sleep on the way there. That T.V. has been causing me to lose some sleep." Dante climbed into the passenger seat and reclined, putting his feet on the dashboard, "What are you waiting for? Let's go. I don't care where you take me, so long as I don't have to listen to her chronic whining anymore."

Morrison started for the car, bidding a fuming Patty good-bye, "See you later, little lady."

"Uh!" Patty spluttered, "What about the T.V.?!"

"You can ask Dante to buy you a new one with the money he'll be making from this job." Morrison climbed into the driver's seat, and he and passenger were off in seconds.

"Hey!! Hold up!! The finale'll be over by then!!…YOU JERKS!!" And with that, Patty walked back into Devil May Cry, grabbed a few, uh…'tools' from Dante's wall, and proceeded to attempt to fix the T.V. herself.

How did it go, you ask? Well, try to imagine performing open-heart surgery…with a sledgehammer. Yeah, something like that.

--

Angelina sat on her bed, the basket of flowers that Brad had bought for her in her hands. Her attention was captured, however, when she heard a car pull up, and the gates open. She went to the window just in time to see a car pull in. She heard the door to her room open, but didn't turn around. "Miss…" The maid began, "Your father wanted me to inform you that your meal is ready."

"I'm not hungry." The teenage girl replied bluntly.

"Please Miss…if you don't eat something, I'll be in trouble with your Father."

Being a kind soul, Angelina could not knowingly allow another person to be harmed for her actions. As such, she attended the maid to the dining room.

--

"Nice place." Dante said, giving the room a look-over, "I can only imagine what kind of evil deeds went into building it."

"The owner is the Mayor of Capulet City, so can you at least _try_ to behave?"

"Capulet City? What the hell is he doing in Brooklyn, then?"

"This is his vacation home."

The door opened just then, and the Mayor said, "Gentlemen. Sorry I'm late. That meeting dragged on longer than I thought it would. Thank you so much for coming."

Morrison respectfully stood up to shake the Mayor's hand, "I'm Morrison. Nice to meet you."

The Mayor turned to Dante, only to find that he had disrespectfully stayed sitting. The half-devil yawned, and said, "Listen Mr. Mayor, how 'bout we cut the chatter and get down to business before I fall asleep again?"

The Mayor blinked, and turned to Morrison, "This is him?"

Dante's agent gave him a thumbs-up, "I can assure you: he's got the skills. He's just a bit rough around the edges."

The Son of Sparda turned his nose up at that.

--

In the dining room, Angelina hadn't eaten a single bite. After ten full minutes of playing with it, she stood up, and walked to the door. "Miss!" The maid called after her.

"You know the rules." Alfred said when Angelina reached him.

"Can I at least just use the washroom on my own?" Angelina asked, still despondent over recent events.

Alfred relented, and stepped aside to allow the young lady passage. Angelina walked towards the washroom with her head, and didn't even notice her father speaking until she heard him say something heart-stopping.

--

Meanwhile, the Mayor had dropped a picture of a young man on the table. Morrison picked it up and memorized the face, then passed the photo on to Dante. He had just taken a look at it when the Mayor said, "I want you to kill this man."

The half-devil's gaze immediately shifted from the photo to the Mayor. His eyes had gone from lazy and uncaring to ice cold in a split second. "Please…" The Mayor continued, "Kill him!"

Dante waited for him to continue, and the Mayor obliged, "I've got a daughter. My only daughter: Angelina. And I've raised her all on my own ever since her mother passed away. My daughter means everything to me. And now this Brad bastard is trying to take my lovely daughter away from this city and me! I won't allow this worthless drifter to take my daughter away from me just because he_ feels_ like it! I'm sure you gentlemen can understand. I mean, she's my darling daughter…my baby girl!"

"And so…" Dante finally spoke up, tossing the photo back onto the desk, "You wanna kill him. Well, what a lovely story. Turn it into a soap opera and I'm sure Patty will love it. I smell ratings."

The Mayor growled at Dante's indifference, but Morrison stepped in, "Haven't you heard that there's been a string of murder's in town lately? It's been all over the news. Where's your head been, under a rock?"

"My TV. is broken, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…I forgot. In any case, there's been a bunch of ugly incidents around here lately."

The Mayor dropped a file in front of Dante, "This is it."

Dante opened it up, and read the first newspaper clipping he could find while the Mayor continued talking, "These murders have been so hideous, so disgustingly horrendous, that the police are saying they don't believe the killer is even human!"

The half-devil took another look at the clipping in the file. The clipping he was reading reported a young lady, about 22, who had been found with a sword stabbed through her heart, and her limbs nailed to the _metal_ floor. Ouch. And to top it off, some bloody teeth marks were found on her neck, as though the killer had drank the blood from her body. Another clipping next to that one also had the bloody teeth marks, but the victim was male. His head had been severed off, and it was found a few feet away from the body.

"So, he's not human?" Dante asked, his human half cringing in disgust, even though his devil half was basking in the bloody mental images.

The Mayor nodded, "These random homicides began happening at around the same time Brad showed up."

--

Angelina gasped from outside, and pressed herself against the wall.

--

"So, you're saying that this Brad is not only a serial killer, but a demon in disguise?" Dante summarized, "That's a little hard to swallow. I'm not buying it."

"I saw it with my own eyes…" The Mayor said, "A few days ago, Angelina confessed to me that she was seeing someone. At first, I found myself rather delighted that my darling had found someone at last, and didn't press her on it. But that very afternoon, almost evening, I looked out the window and saw Brad there, waiting for my daughter. He picked up a dead rose from the ground, and put his hand to it. A moment later, there was a green glow, and the rose bloomed again!…he's a demon…I'm sure of it! Please, kill Brad!!"

--

Angelina let out a startled gasp, and stepped away from the door as her mind tried to understand what she had just heard. When it did, all out panic took over, and she ran. Ran out the door. Ran to park. And ran down the stairs until she could see Brad standing where she had first met him not to long ago, "Brad!"

"Hmm?" Brad turned to face her, and almost lost his balance as she collided into him and hugged him tightly, "Angelina, what's wrong?"

"Brad…please…let's run away together…please…"

"Angelina. Please calm down and tell me what's wrong."

"Oh, Brad!…It seems…it seems my father has hired someone to kill you."

Brad blinked, "To…to kill me? Why?"

"Because of you special power. He thinks…he thinks you're a demon!"

"Does he now…" Brad sighed, resigning himself to death. If the Mayor had discovered the truth, then there was only one person the Mayor would send after him.

"We…we can run away!" Angelina said, "Let's leave here!"

"My dear Angelina…" Brad hugged her lovingly, "Please understand…I can't let you get wrapped up in something like this."

"But I…"

"Angelina, I don't want you to worry about me in the slightest. You understand? I'm going to be alright." It was a lie, and he knew it. But he felt he had to comfort his girlfriend, "Someday, I'm sure your father will understand."

"Oh, Brad…"

"You should go home…I'm glad…I was able to see you."

--

Not too long later, Brad was walking down a street. His demonic senses easily picked up the car following him closely behind. He didn't turn around. He didn't have to. Not to sense the incredible power of a certain person in the passenger seat, at any rate.

--

"You still can't find her?!" The Mayor roared into the phone, "Don't you dare come back until you do!!"

He slammed the phone onto the receiver, "Did she go to that demon's place again…?

Alfred gave an apology, "Forgive me, Mr. Mayor. If only I hadn't taken my eyes off of her…"

He was interrupted when the door opened, and Angelina walked in. "Miss!", the butler gasped in surprise.

The Mayor bared his teeth and stomped over to his daughter. "Father…" Angelina didn't get a chance to finish what she was about to say, because at that moment, the Mayor slapped across the face.

A short while later, Angelina was in her room, with her father yelling at her from the door, "From now on, you will only leave this room for meals, and you will be followed everywhere you go!!"

The door slammed shut, and the lock placed on it, but Angelina didn't care. There was only one thing she was worried about right now. "Brad…" she muttered from the window.

--

Brad took a small sip from the glass of iced tea he was drinking, and continued reading his novel. The door to the bar opened, and Dante walked in. He came up next to Brad and asked, "Mind if I sit here?"

"Uh!" Brad stuttered, having not expected the half-devil to follow him into the bar, "Um, no. Not at all."

"Thank you." Dante sat down, and called to the barkeep, "I'll take a beer and a large pizza. I don't care what you put on it so long as there's no olives."

"Coming right up." The bartender replied.

"Go about your reading." Dante told the demon next to him, "Don't worry about me."

"Um, okay." Brad said warily, surprised to still be alive, "Thanks. I think I will."

The silence went on for a few minutes more. Finally, Dante asked, "Sorry for being curious: but what are you reading that you're so into?"

"It's a romance novel." The low-level demon replied.

"Hmm? How is it?"

"It's great. Amazing, even. A man a women falling in love is a beautiful thing." He turned to face Dante, "Wouldn't you agree?"

All he received in reply was a smirk and a small chuckle. Brad frowned, "Is that somehow amusing?"

"Not at all." Dante replied, "I just never thought of it that way."

"Here's your beer." The barkeep said, placing a rather large mug in front of Dante.

"It took you this long just to get a beer? What about my pizza?"

"Being made as we speak."

"Damn…" The half-devil sighed. He lifted his mug and held it towards Brad, "Cheers."

"Oh!" Brad lifted his mug as well, "Cheers."

They clacked their respective drinks together, and each took a gulp.

"By the way…you look like a drifter. Where you from?" Dante asked, but the demon next to him didn't reply, "Well, that's fine. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Well." Brad said, closing his book and standing up, "It's about time for me to be going. Good-bye."

"See ya." the half-devil replied.

Brad just walked out the door as the barkeep put a delicious and huge pizza in front of Dante, "Here you go."

"Huh? Hey, there are olives on this!"

"Well, of course!"

"Shit…" Dante looked over his shoulder, at the door that the low level demon had exited through just moments ago. It was a dilemma: follow the possible serial killer, or eat the pizza.

Ugh…it was life-changing decisions like this one that the Son of Sparda just hated so much.

--

Brad walked up the alleyway, feeling the presence before seeing it. And as he expected, his shadow grew to twice his own size. A demon of moderate power leaned out of the wall, "It seems that the gateway will be opening tonight."

"Is that so?" Brad asked.

"Yes…but to leave the human world so suddenly like this is such a shame."

"So…it was you, after all. The one who's been behind the recent string of homicides."

The moderate-level demon licked his lips, "The blood of these humans…so warm and delicious…I love it…"

Then the plate crashed into his face, "WHO DID THAT?!"

Brad spun around to see Dante walking into the alley, stuffing the last of the eighth pizza slice into his mouth. He spoke with his mouth full, "Eating a large size supreme pizza in under five minutes. New World Record, I'd say."

"You followed me here?" Brad asked incredulously.

"Don't you mess with me!!" The wall demon shouted, obviously oblivious to whom he was about to fight. And somehow, Brad felt no desire to warn him.

The wall demon thrust his arm into the wall, and it came out right next to Dante, pinning next the other wall. Even so, the Son of Sparda wasn't bothered, "That's quite a fancy handshake you got there."

He fired a few rounds from Ivory into the demons arm, severing it and causing him to roar in pain. Dante started slowly approaching the pair of Hell-dwellers. Wasting little time, the moderate-level demon punched his other arm through the wall. It missed Dante by less than inch, passing behind him. The half-devil shot that arm, too, but the demon pulled it away and retreated, leaving Brad to fend for himself.

Brad, however, didn't seem too worried, "You're as strong as I heard…"

Dante narrowed his eyes, "That _almost_ makes it sound like you know me."

"I've been in the human realm for about a month, now. That's more than enough time to hear about the Devil Hunter, and Son of Sparda: Dante."

Dante's eyes narrowed even more, "Can I take that as a confession that you are, in fact, a demon?"

Brad closed his eyes, "…yes."

Dante aimed Ivory at the low-level demon's forehead, "Then I suppose you've got no objections, right."

"No, I don…"

"OBJECTION!" Yelled a loud voice, causing both Dante and Brad to stumble in shock.

They both looked down to the end of the alley. A male human with a blue suit, red tie, and very spiky hair was standing there, pointedly pointing at Dante with his pointer finger, "Hey! You with the red coat! I heard everything! You can't kill this man just for being a demon!"

"OBJECTION!" Yelled a slightly deeper voice from the other end of the alleyway. Dante and Brad, becoming more confused by the second, turned again, and saw a rather handsome man with a red suit, and stylish hair.

"Phoenix Wright." The human in red said, "The fact that this man is a demon is reason enough to hold him in suspicion! These spawn of Hell kill without remorse, or hesitation, and we must ensure that he doesn't get another chance to kill an innocent. It is the prosecution's belief that the defendant, Brad, willfully took part in the recent string of murders!"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix yelled, "Edgeworth! I understand your reasoning, but I cannot agree with it. This man may indeed be a demon, but do you have proof that he killed a single one of those victims?"

"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth roared, "Proof? I'm sorry, Mr. Wright, but have you forgotten in your seven years of being a hobo? Forgotten that the burden of proof falls upon the defense?"

"OBJECTION! You want proof? I'll give it to you!"

"OBJECTION! You lie! You have no proof!"

"OBJECTION! That's where you're wrong! I have the one piece of evidence I need!" Phoenix reached into his pocket, and took out his cell phone, "I recorded the conversation this low-level demon had with his moderate-level demon contact!"

"WHAT?!"

"Indeed! Listen carefully…" Phoenix pressed the 'play' button.

"…_but to leave the human world so suddenly like this would be such a shame."_

"_So…it was you, after all. The one who's been behind the recent string of homicides…"_

"You see!" Phoenix yelled triumphantly, "Brad made clear that he no idea that the moderate-level demon was killing!"

"OBJECTION! Wright…don't you think it possible that the defendant just said that because he wanted people to believer he was innocent?"

"OBJECTION! It was just the two of them! Ergo, he couldn't possibly have known that someone had been around to hear it!"

"OBJECTION!…that was…objectionable!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Dante roared, slamming his fist into the brick wall, and making a sizable dent, "What's the hell is wrong with the two of you?! Do you think this is some sorta court room?!"

"Um…" Phoenix began, "Sorry, I guess we kinda, um…"

"…just got carried away." Edgeworth finished for him.

Dante's eye twitched, and the two lawyers ran away before he could go off on them. Finally, the half-devil turned his attention back to Brad. Once again aiming Ivory at his forehead, Dante modified his previous question, "Well…I suppose this means that you don't have any obje-er…_complaints?_"

"No, I don't."

"Well then…"

"But first!…I want to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"I heard that you're a half-breed. Born half-human, and half-demon. If that's the case, then did your parents…did they love each other? Was it possible that there was true love between a mortal and a devil?"

Dante wasn't sure what to say. So he opted for the truth, "To be honest, I'm not sure. You hear all the time about those couples who look together, but on the inside, they don't care for each other in the slightest."

"That's not what I mea…"

"However! In the case of my parents, Sparda and Eva…I think they loved each very much."

Brad smiled contentedly, "I see…"

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Yes." Brad closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

Dante squeezed the trigger on Ivory, and a single shot rang out. Realizing that he wasn't dead several moments later, the low-level demon opened his eyes. Dante was pointing Ebony upwards…straight at the moderate-level demon from earlier. Blood poured out from the bullet in his forehead, and he dropped to the floor, dead. With Ivory holstered, and a twirl of his cape, Dante turned and walked away.

--

The two reconvened at the park, where Brad and Angelina first met. "I thought for sure that you would try a surprise attack on me." Dante said.

"What would be the point?" Brad asked, "Even if I tried, I could never vanquish an opponent like you."

"Well…aren't you one demon who's swelling with confidence."

Brad chuckled without any humor, "I may be a demon, but my power is nothing compared to yours. Besides, my role is finished here. I'm leaving in just a bit."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My Master will be coming to this world tonight. From Hell to the human realm. I was summoned by a human here to get things ready for him. I did as he ordered, and now I'm done here."

"And you're telling me this, because…?"

"Because…maybe I want someone to stop him. To put an end to his plans. My Master is greedy. He will try to devour this entire city, no doubt about it. That café with the wonderful coffee…the hill that has such beautiful sunsets…everything…" Brad fell to his knees, gripping the guard rail.

"And Angelina, too?"

"What should I do?! I don't want to lose her. I've always been treated so cruelly in Hell, because I'm so weak. But she…she would smile at me. I can't stand the thought that she will be eaten by my Master." Tears started to fall from his eyes, "But I'm just one demon…I don't have the power to fight him."

Dante was convinced. Not only by the story, but by the tears. After all, tears were a gift only humans had, "Okay. I think that we can both agree that as a demon, you're pretty pathetic. But…if you care about her so much, who's to say you can't live on as a human?"

Brad looked up in surprise, "Me...a…human?"

"Get up." Dante said, a kind smile on his face, "We're gonna have to move if we want to get the welcome party for your boss set up in time."

--

At the Mayor's Mansion…

Angelina heard her father scream in pain, and immediately sat up in bed, "Father!"

She ran to the door and banged on it a few times, calling 'father' while she was at it. The lock wouldn't give, however, and she couldn't get the door open. She came up with a solution fairly quick, however. Running to a corner of the room, she took a potted plant off of a table, and then lifted the table itself. Slamming it three times against the door was enough to shatter the lock, and she ran to the foyer, "Father! Father!"

She reached the stairs and looked down. Her father was lying in the middle of some drawing, but what she was most worried about was the river of blood coming from his shoulder. She ran down the stairs, "Father! Father!"

When she reached him, she checked his shoulder, sobbing in panic. She heard the footsteps far too late. "Don't move." Alfred demanded, putting a knife to her throat, 'If you had stayed in your room like a good girl, then you would have been able to die without being scared."

"Why…why would you do this?"

"Soon…a powerful devil named Belphegor will be summoned to this city by the ritual I have performed. That demon and I…together, we will destroy this world!"

In his craze, Alfred had allowed the knife to drop from Angelina's throat, and she took the opportunity to make for the door. Unfortunately, it was locked, and the teenage girl could only turn around and watch as the clearly insane Alfred walked menacingly towards her, knife in hand. He raised the knife, and brought it down. Angelina closed her eyes…

And was saved as a hail of .45 caliber rounds tore through the door. One of the bullets luckily grazed Alfred hand, forcing him to drop the knife. Then Dante gatecrashed, knocking the door in with Rebellions hilt. "Dante!!" Alfred cried.

"Sorry." The Son of Sparda said, meaning the exact opposite, "I guess I knocked a little too hard."

"I had a bad feeling from the moment I saw you with the Mayor. But you're too late!"

Now it was Brad's turn to gatecrash, breaking in through the window, "Angelina!"

"Brad!" His girlfriend replied in unconcealed joy.

"Mr. Mayor! Please hold on!"

"Brad!" Alfred cried in shock, "Are you actually going to betray the great Belphegor?!"

The demon was too concerned with getting the Mayor somewhere safe to bother with a reply. Good thing, too, 'cause just as he cleared the demonic symbol on the floor, all hell broke loose. The symbol activated, announcing the arrival of Belphegor, and Alfred laughed in glee, "You're too late! He has arriv-ugh!!"

The 'ugh' came as a result of Dante kicking him in the temple and rendering him unconscious. And possibly paralyzed. The half-devil jumped into the air, holding onto the chandelier right above Belphegor's entry point, and holding Ivory between his jaws. He dropped just as the devil attacked with his tentacles, "I'm sure it must've been a long journey for you to get here!"

He fired a few rounds from Ivory, and cut through the tentacles attacking him, "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that entry is prohibited beyond this point!", He shoved his sword into the devil's face, "I'm afraid I'm going to deny you passage!"

Eventually, Belphegor was forced back into the hole from whence he came, and the portal sealed up. Dante holstered Ivory, and slung Rebellion over his shoulder. Then he turned his attention to Brad and Angelina, who were taking care of the Mayor. "Angelina?" The Mayor asked weakly, "What's happening?"

"Don't talk, Father." Angelina said, "Brad, can you do anything for him?"

"I've never done a healing for such a huge wound." Brad admitted, "I'll try my best though."

He put his hands to the Mayor's chest, and the green glow began working its magic. Literally. "Do you…think I'll…approve you relationship…with my daughter just for doing this?" The Mayor asked Brad.

"Don't worry. That's not why I'm doing this. I just don't want to see Angelina so sad anymore."

"You…devil…"

"Sorry Mr. Mayor." Dante interrupted, again meaning the opposite, "But I'm afraid that I can't accept your job. Brad knows about, and understands 'love.' That's enough for me to believe in him. I only exterminate real demons. And only evil ones at that."

He walked out the door, leaving the unconscious Alfred to whatever fate Brad had planned for him. Sure, the low-level demon was a peaceful one. But Dante knew for a fact that Brad must feel some demonic urges, and his anger at Alfred was just the opportunity to let it all out.

--

The next morning…at Devil May Cry…

"Come on Morrison!" Patty whined, "Haven't you gotten it fixed yet?!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've almost got it. By the way, Dante…" He addressed the Devil Hunter reclining at his desk, viewing a photo that a certain new couple had taken, "I've been meaning to talk to you. It's great that Angelina and Brad got the Mayor's approval to be a couple, but I don't get how that leads to me playing repairman. My TV repair days are a thing of the past."

"Less talking, more fixing!", then the TV screen came on, "All right! And just in time for the rerun of the finale!"

Morrison chuckled at his own successful handiwork, "I'll be deducting the repair bill from your next check."

"Hmph." Dante snorted, dropping the picture of Angelina and Brad on his desk "Do what you want"

"Jesus! At this rate, it doesn't matter how many good jobs I bring you! You'll never get out of debt!"

After he slammed the door shut behind himself, Patty spoke up, "But you seem happy, Dante. Even though you're always whining that you never make any money."

"Well…" the half-devil started, "Sometimes there are days like this."

"I hope those two will be happy together." Patty referred to Brad and Angelina, smiling.

That smile was quickly replaced by a look of surprise. Why? Because the smile currently on Dante's lips radiated more warmth than the crater of an erupting volcano.


End file.
